7 miles SE of Ponce is this small island which is a nature reserve and surrounded by the clearest of turquoise seas. The island is crowned by a lighthouse which we hiked up to see - despite it still being operational, sadly it was very delapidated when we got there, a shame seeing as it date back fin Island)to 1887.
Back in the 1800s the island was used as the meeting place for Masons - an organisation that was outlawed at that time, On the hike up to the lighthouse there was a memorial monument to the Masons dating from that time.
14 Mar 2013
13 Mar 2013
[Cruise News] On the sea again
After 5 nights at anchor in Boqueron, and with still no suitable weather window for sailing north in sight, we've decided to cut our losses and back-track to the USVI. We had to miss these out on the way to Puerto Rico because we ran short of time so it will be nice to visit them and tick them off the list so to speak. We're then hopeful that next week will yield an opportunity to head north, although it will have added an extra 24 hours to the sailing time to the Bahamas. But, we're not good at killing time so would prefer to be sailing somewhere in the meantime, unlike a neighbouring boat here in Boqueron who have been waiting over 5 weeks for a weather window. Just shows we're definitely not proper cruisers yet!
10 Mar 2013
[Cruise News] Boqueron, Puerto Rico
We arrived in Boqueron Friday afternoon with the plan on overnighting here, clearing out with Customs on Saturday and heading off later that day. Things haven't exactly gone to plan! Firstly, Customs told us they don't work Saturday and Sunday thus delaying our earliest departure to Monday. And then the weather is conspiring against us. We have to sail across the Mona Passage on leaving Puerto Rico, a stretch of water 80 miles wide separating PR from the Dominican Republic, and notorious for kicking up big seas. All the advise is not to sail it when the wind is from the north and, you guessed it, it's coming from the north for the next couple of days. Tuesday would be a good day to head off from a wind direction perspective but there big swells forecast until Wednesday (up to 13') suggesting Wednesday would be a better launch day. But then another band of high winds is forecast to come through on Thursday. You get the picture!
Meanwhile we're having a relaxing time here in Boqueron and finding it very sociable. It's the departure / arrival point for most boats sailing between the Bahamas and the Caribbean so there are plenty of cruisers here to share a beer and anecdote with. We've also used the opportunity to re-stock (yet again) Jay Jay with enough food to probably sail to the Arctic - a chap off the neighbouring yacht very kindly gave us a lift to the supermarket yesterday so we didn't even have to use a taxi!
Boqueron is very popular at weekends with Puerto Ricans and has a real street-party atmosphere. We had dinner ashore last night with four Canadian and two American sailors, all who had arrived from the Bahamas yesterday, and had a really fun evening. We also got a couple of T-shirts painted with Jay Jay on the front, set again a Caribbean beach. A nice souvenir of our time out here. Let's hope the UK serves up enough sunshine this year for us to be able to wear them.
Meanwhile we're having a relaxing time here in Boqueron and finding it very sociable. It's the departure / arrival point for most boats sailing between the Bahamas and the Caribbean so there are plenty of cruisers here to share a beer and anecdote with. We've also used the opportunity to re-stock (yet again) Jay Jay with enough food to probably sail to the Arctic - a chap off the neighbouring yacht very kindly gave us a lift to the supermarket yesterday so we didn't even have to use a taxi!
Boqueron is very popular at weekends with Puerto Ricans and has a real street-party atmosphere. We had dinner ashore last night with four Canadian and two American sailors, all who had arrived from the Bahamas yesterday, and had a really fun evening. We also got a couple of T-shirts painted with Jay Jay on the front, set again a Caribbean beach. A nice souvenir of our time out here. Let's hope the UK serves up enough sunshine this year for us to be able to wear them.
7 Mar 2013
[Cruise News] Ponce, Puerto Rico
We're halfway along the south coast of PR now in the second largest city of Ponce. It dates back to colonial times and has an air of faded glory about, despite the government's program me of rejuvination. Probably the most notable feature of the city is the old fire station, a wooden building dating from 1843 that is painted in the city colours of red and black. Red represents fire and black the ashes. Back in the early days of the station, the firemen didn't receive any pay and so they were all awarded wooden homes, also painted red and black. Some 150+ years on, the descendants of these original firefighters are still entitled to live there rent-free.
Tomorrow morning we'll continue our journey west along the south coast, hopefully rounding the SW corner and ending up in Boqueron. From there we'll check out on Saturday and start the four day passage to the Bahamas. It will be strange to make a long passage again after 3 months of island hopping but the weather forecast is looking good so we should have a decent crossing. We're very excited about visiting the Bahamas - everyone we talk to says they are spectacular. Let's hope so!
Tomorrow morning we'll continue our journey west along the south coast, hopefully rounding the SW corner and ending up in Boqueron. From there we'll check out on Saturday and start the four day passage to the Bahamas. It will be strange to make a long passage again after 3 months of island hopping but the weather forecast is looking good so we should have a decent crossing. We're very excited about visiting the Bahamas - everyone we talk to says they are spectacular. Let's hope so!
5 Mar 2013
[Cruise News] Esperanza, Vieques
We sailed over to Vieques on Sunday arriving in Sun Bay to rendevouz with the couple we met 10 days ago in Culebra. It's a beautiful bay and a bit of a first for me - staying somewhere with only 2 other boats. Last time we were in the Caribbean I always looked to have at least 5 other boats around, ideally 10, so I'm coming on in leaps and bounds!
Vieques is the largest of the Spanish Virgin islands and is very laid back. Mainstream tourism hasn't arrived here and it lends the island a certain charm that isn't present in the BVI and USVI. There are only two towns on the island, Esperanza and Isabel Segunda, the capital. We've visited both in the course of the last two days, preferring the former which is surrounded by a beautiful bay.
We're setting off along the south coast of Puerto Rico tomorrow as part of the first leg of the journey to the Bahamas. It looks like we'll be facing very light winds so may well be motor-sailing a fair bit of the way. Better than high winds, but expensive!
Puerto Rico
We've had a great time in Puerto Rico and have seen a lot of the sights on the eastern side of the island, despite having to spend far more time at the marina sorting out the anemometer and forestay than we'd hoped! So yesterday being finally free of boat issues we visited the El Yunque rainforest which is the only rainforest national park in the US. It's in three distinct levels, dictated by both the height and also the type of vegetation. We were only in the first level at around 1500 feet.
Puerto Rico has one of the rarest birds on the planet - the Puerto Rican parrot - and there are only 22 of these left in the wild. They inhabit the third level of the forest and to help keep predators away from this level, the national park creates artificial nests in the lower levels to "accommodate" other birds.
Another rare world phenomenon is bio-luminescence in the water. Last night we were lucky enough to visit one of the three bio-luminescent bays in the Spanish Virgin Islands. Whilst two of these are on Puerto Rico, the one considered to be the best is on the neighbouring island of Vieques where the density of the single-cell, microscopic dinaflagellants (? spelling!) is the highest in the world. These little critters fluoresce when they are agitated and so trailing a hand or foot through the water creates the most incredible spectacle. I don't often use this word, but last night fully deserved it .... awesome!
Vieques is the largest of the Spanish Virgin islands and is very laid back. Mainstream tourism hasn't arrived here and it lends the island a certain charm that isn't present in the BVI and USVI. There are only two towns on the island, Esperanza and Isabel Segunda, the capital. We've visited both in the course of the last two days, preferring the former which is surrounded by a beautiful bay.
We're setting off along the south coast of Puerto Rico tomorrow as part of the first leg of the journey to the Bahamas. It looks like we'll be facing very light winds so may well be motor-sailing a fair bit of the way. Better than high winds, but expensive!
Puerto Rico
We've had a great time in Puerto Rico and have seen a lot of the sights on the eastern side of the island, despite having to spend far more time at the marina sorting out the anemometer and forestay than we'd hoped! So yesterday being finally free of boat issues we visited the El Yunque rainforest which is the only rainforest national park in the US. It's in three distinct levels, dictated by both the height and also the type of vegetation. We were only in the first level at around 1500 feet.
Puerto Rico has one of the rarest birds on the planet - the Puerto Rican parrot - and there are only 22 of these left in the wild. They inhabit the third level of the forest and to help keep predators away from this level, the national park creates artificial nests in the lower levels to "accommodate" other birds.
Another rare world phenomenon is bio-luminescence in the water. Last night we were lucky enough to visit one of the three bio-luminescent bays in the Spanish Virgin Islands. Whilst two of these are on Puerto Rico, the one considered to be the best is on the neighbouring island of Vieques where the density of the single-cell, microscopic dinaflagellants (? spelling!) is the highest in the world. These little critters fluoresce when they are agitated and so trailing a hand or foot through the water creates the most incredible spectacle. I don't often use this word, but last night fully deserved it .... awesome!
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